Teacher’s Notes

& Lesson Plan

interactive notebook activitY

Posters

20-Question Practice

Difficulty Level A, Grades 4-5

Answer Keys20-Question Assessment

20-Question Practice

Difficulty Level B, Grade 6

Answer Keys20-Question Assessment

Difficulty Level C, Grades 7-8

20-Question Practice

Answer Keys20-Question Assessment

©2014 erin cobb imlovinlit.com

Reading Literature Practice & Assess Lesson 24: Folktales Genres

Practice Level B 109  

Name __________________________

Fill in the blanks to define each type of folktale below:

1.  A story with kings, queens, princesses and magic is usually a __________________.

2.  A story about a real person that emphasizes his or her best qualities is a

__________________.

3.  Many cultures use __________________ to explain natural occurrences.

4.  A story that uses human-like animals to teach a lesson is a __________________.

5.  A story that is funny because of wild exaggerations is a __________________.___________________________________________________________________

____ 6. Elizabeth (Betsy) Ross was a seamstress who lived and worked in Philadelphia in the 1770s. George Washington was a frequent customer, as she took care of monogramming his shirts and sewing ruffles on cuffs and collars. One day General Washington appeared at her door with his friend Robert Morris. They had a diagram of a flag that included strips and six pointed stars. Adding her own interpretation of the design, Mrs. Ross created the very first American flag.

____ 7. A black raven was very jealous of a beautiful white swan, and he asked the swan what she did to be so beautiful. The swan replied, “I live here on the water and I eat grass that grows near the shore.” The raven decided he, too, could become a swan, and tried to swim in the water, but he almost drowned. He tried to eat the grass, but found it made him sick. Finally, he gave up and returned to the forest. The moral? A change of habits cannot change one’s nature.

Read each of the excerpts below and determine which genre it most likely represents.

____ 8. The mortal Arachne claimed that she could weave finer cloth than even the gods. The goddess Athena heard of her boast, and disguising herself as a mortal, challenged Arachne to a weaving contest. Day and night, the two wove, until finally both had finished their tapestries. When they presented them to the gods to judge, all agreed that the mortal, Arachne, had indeed woven the finest tapestry. Athena was furious and turned Arachne into a spider. For all eternity, Arachne and her children and her children’s children continue to weave, and their finely made webs can be seen everywhere on earth.

A. Fairy Tale C. Fable E. Myth

B. Tall Tale D. Legend

©2014 erin cobb imlovinlit.com

Reading Literature Practice & Assess Lesson 24: Folktales Genres

Practice Level B

____ 9. Once upon a time, a beautiful princess was forced to flee from an evil witch. Seeing how difficult it was for the princess to hide, a kind fairy gave her a magical piece of wood. When the princess put the piece of wood in her mouth, she was transformed into a bear. The princess lived as a bear in the forest for two summers. One day, a handsome prince came upon her, and delighted by how friendly she was a bear, he took her home to be his pet. The princess-bear lived comfortably in the courtyard of the prince’s palace. One day, she removed the piece of wood from her mouth, as she often did, so that she could clean her teeth. The prince happened to be at the window and suddenly spied a beautiful maiden in the courtyard. He rushed outside, but by the time he arrived, the princess was again a bear. The prince grew sick with love for the maiden as he could not find her anywhere. As a bear, the princess tried to comfort him, and one day, the prince kissed her paw. The princess was so surprised the piece of wood fell from her mouth. The prince realized that she was the maiden. They were immediately married and lived happily ever after.

____ 10. Quite by accident, a fox found himself trapped in a shallow well. The water was not deep, but the walls were slippery and he could not get out. A goat wandered by and the fox called to him. “Goat! Oh Goat! Aren’t you thirsty goat?” The goat went to the edge of the well and looked in. “I am thirsty. Is the water any good?” The fox replied, “Good? It is the best water in the land!” The goat leapt into the well and began to drink. Quick as a flash, the fox jumped on his back and out of the well. “Hey! The goat called after him. How can I get out of here?” But the fox had already run away. Look before you leap!

____ 11. The goddess of springtime was out picking flowers one day when the god of the underworld, amazed by her beauty, abducted her and took her away. The goddess’s parents searched high and low for her, but when they finally found her, learned that she had eaten a terrible fruit and was sentenced to live her life in the underworld and never to return to the surface. The goddess’s parents reasoned with the god of the underworld, explaining that, without spring, nothing would grow on the earth again. He relented and allowed her to return to the earth for half of every year. This is why we have the seasons of spring and summer, when the goddess is on earth, and fall and winter, when she must return to the underworld.

____ 12. Johnny Inkslinger was a clerk who kept track of accounts for a store. He was so conscientious that he knew how many beans were in each fifty pound sack. When an employee used a match to light a fire, Johnny marked it in his ledger. He wrote so fast, and kept such complete records that he had to devise his own pen, connected to fifty-five gallon barrels of ink. In a cost-saving move, Johnny stopped dotting his I’s and crossing his T’s – saving twelve barrels of ink every week.

____ 13. Davy Crocket was married to a lady named Sally Ann Thunder. Sally Ann talked so fast that people would have to ride a mile ahead of her to figure out what she said. When ladies started to wear their hair up in a style that looked like a bee-hive, Sally Ann saved time and just popped a real bee hive on her head, bees and all!

A. Fairy Tale C. Fable E. Myth

B. Tall Tale D. Legend

110  

Grade 6, Level B

©2014 erin cobb imlovinlit.com

Reading Literature Practice & Assess Lesson 24 Answer Keys

143  

Lesson 24 Practice

1 fairytale

2 legend

3 myths

4 fable

5 tall tale

6 d

7 c

8 e

9 a

10 c

11 e

12 b

13 b

14 c

15 d

16 b

17 d

18 e

19 a

20 b

Lesson 24 Assessment

1 fairy tale

2 fable

3 mythology

4 legend

5 tall tale

6 d

7 e

8 b

9 a

10 d

11 b

12 c

13 e

14 b

15 c

16 b

17 e

18 d

19 e

20 a